261: Chapter 261 Yuling's Mistake with Her Mother

Li Ran didn't notice Qin Lin's pause and continued speaking, her voice growing softer, as if talking to herself or confiding in her "daughter."

"Yuling, you don't know how envious I feel every time I see Qin Lin with them."

Her fingers lightly brushed across the water's surface, creating a ripple.

"It's not jealousy, just envy."

Qin Lin squatted by the bathtub, the washcloth in his hand stopping at Li Ran's shoulder blade, motionless.

His heart was racing so fast that he felt Li Ran must be able to hear it.

But Li Ran didn't hear it; she was immersed in her own emotions and continued.

"Did you know? That day at the pool, I did it on purpose."

Qin Lin's fingers tightened slightly.

"I know how to swim; I learned when I was a child. That day when I fell into the water, I was faking it. I deliberately called for help, deliberately threw myself onto him, and deliberately felt him up..."

Her voice carried a hint of self-deprecation: "Isn't it shameless? I think so too."

"But... but I couldn't control myself. I just wanted him to hold me, I just wanted him to look at me more."

It really was an act.

Qin Lin took a deep breath, trying his best to stay calm.

"Yuling, do you think Qin Lin will think I'm a frivolous woman?" Li Ran's voice held a trace of worry.

"Will he think it's disgusting for someone my age to act like this?"

Qin Lin opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but held back.

Li Ran continued, "I know I'm not good enough for him. I'm twenty-one years older than him, and I'm his mother-in-law, but... but I just can't help it."

She sighed. "Staying on the RV for so long, people really get bored and lonely."

"Every day is just eating, sleeping, chatting, and reading. The days pass one by one, with nothing to look forward to."

Her voice dropped. "After living like this for a long time, one's thoughts start to change."

"Things I used to think were forbidden now seem like nothing. Things I used to think were shameful now just feel like... as long as I'm alive, who cares about shame."

As Qin Lin listened, his heart felt complicated.

Li Ran was right.

Staying on the RV for a long time, people really do change, and they even go crazy.

The world outside is an apocalypse; you can't go out, you can only live inside the vehicle.

The days pass one by one, without work, without social life, without goals, leaving only survival itself.

Although the RV System has missions, doing them too much gets boring too.

In this kind of life, over time, a person's moral concepts are slowly eroded.

It's not about becoming bad, but about stopping to care.

"Yuling, I'm telling you this not because I want your sympathy," Li Ran's voice was very soft. "I just want you to know that I'm human too. I have emotions and desires, I get lonely, and I want someone to accompany me."

She paused, her voice dropping even lower. "And... and sometimes I think, if I were with Qin Lin, then I could be with all of you, and I wouldn't be an outsider anymore."

Qin Lin's heart raced again.

Li Ran's thoughts were even bolder than he had imagined.

"Do you think Qin Lin would like this?" Li Ran asked. "I see him with both Lin Xiaoyue and Lin Fang; he must like this kind of thing, right? And then there's Han Qing's family."

Qin Lin didn't speak.

Li Ran waited for a moment, and when she didn't hear a response, she got a bit anxious. "Yuling? Why aren't you saying anything? Do you think I'm crazy?"

Qin Lin took a deep breath and spoke.

"She doesn't think you're crazy."

Li Ran's body froze instantly.

That voice didn't belong to Su Yuling.

It was... Qin Lin's voice.

"W-what?" Li Ran's voice trembled violently.

Qin Lin said, "It's me, Qin Lin."

Li Ran sat up abruptly, splashing water everywhere.

She reached out to take off her sleep mask, but her hands were shaking so much it took several tries to remove it.

The light in the bathroom was dazzling; she squinted and saw Qin Lin squatting by the bathtub.

He was holding the washcloth, squatting there, looking at her with a complicated expression.

Li Ran's mind went blank.

She looked down at herself, sitting in the bathtub; the water was clear, and everything was visible.

She again looked at Qin Lin; he wasn't wearing anything, squatting right in front of her.

Their eyes met.

The air solidified.

Li Ran's face turned red from the base of her neck to the tips of her ears, so red it looked like it might bleed.

Her mouth opened and closed, wanting to say something, but not a single word came out.

Her body was trembling, though she didn't know if it was from the cold or the shame.

Qin Lin also froze, his mind blank.

He had thought of countless ways to lay his cards on the table with Li Ran, but he never imagined it would be in a scene like this.

He was squatting naked by the tub, she was soaking in the water, and only a thin surface of water separated them.

Li Ran's gaze moved down from his face, saw that he wasn't wearing anything, and quickly looked away, her face turning even redder.

After being stunned for a long time, Li Ran suddenly shrank back into the water, hugging her chest with both hands, curling into a ball.

"Y-you... why are you here!" Her voice was sharp and laced with a sob.

Qin Lin sighed. "Yuling told me to come; she said you weren't here."

Li Ran was stunned.

Then she understood.

Su Yuling.

That girl had sold her out.

"That brat..." Li Ran's voice was through gritted teeth. "How could she... how dare she..."

Her face was flushed, red from the base of her neck to the tips of her ears.

It was unclear if it was out of embarrassment, anger, or both.

She had originally intended to confess to her daughter, but how did the listener end up being Qin Lin?

At this moment, she wanted to die.

Qin Lin looked at her, not knowing what to say.

The atmosphere in the bathroom was awkward to the extreme.

Mist drifted between them, the light was dim, and Li Ran shrank in the tub, arms around her chest, looking like a startled shrimp.

Qin Lin squatted by the tub, still holding the washcloth, wearing nothing; his posture was both comical and awkward.

The two remained at a standstill, neither speaking.

After a long time, Li Ran spoke, her voice tiny and tearful: "You... you heard everything?"

Qin Lin nodded. "Yes."

Li Ran buried her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling.

"It's over, it's over, it's over..." Her voice was muffled. "I can't show my face to anyone anymore..."

Qin Lin looked at her, feeling a bit of pity.

"Mom..."

"Don't call me Mom!" Li Ran snapped her head up, her eyes red. "You heard it, you heard everything! Those things I said, you heard them all!"

Qin Lin nodded.

Li Ran's tears fell. "Then do you think I'm shameless? Disgusting? Very..."

"No," Qin Lin interrupted her. "I don't think you're disgusting."

Li Ran was stunned. "Really?"

"Really."

Li Ran looked at him, suspicion in her eyes. "You're lying to me."

"I'm not lying to you," Qin Lin said seriously. "I heard everything you said. You said you envied them, you said you wanted me to look at you more, you said you fell into the pool on purpose... I heard it all."

Li Ran's face turned even redder. "Stop talking about it!"

Qin Lin continued, "I don't think you're disgusting, and I don't think you're frivolous. I just... didn't expect you to think that way."

Li Ran lowered her head, her voice very soft. "Now that you know, what do you want to do?"